Automatic car-fender.



No 7 |5,-i53.- Patented Dec. 2, I902.

H. F. 'nooutv.

AUTOMATIC CAR FENDER.

(Application filed m 20, 1002.)

(lo Iodl.)

WITNESSES [NVENTOR mw /g UITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. ROONEY, OF RANDOLPH, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHS TO JOHN J. HORTTER, OF SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND PATRICK DEAN, SECOND, OF RANDOLPH, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC CAR-FENDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 715,153, dated December 2, 1902. Application filed uly 26, 1902. Serial No. 117,124. (No model.)

To ctZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. RODNEY, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Randolph, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Car- Fenders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others IO skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in life-saving fenders of the character adapted for use on street-railway cars.

The object of this invention is to provide a fender which shall be entirely and solely automatic in its operationthat is to say, a fender which is not dependent upon any ac- .zo tion of the motorman or operator in charge of the car for its actuation.

It is also my intention to provide a fender which after it has been thrown into operative position by impact with an obstruction or body upon the track, will be returned to its normal or inoperative position through the medium of certain devices forming a part of or attached to the main portion of the fender.

This invention also contemplates the provision of auxiliary or supplemental fenders or shields adapted to be attached to the sides of the main body portion of the fender in such manner that should a person struck by the fender be thrown .to one side such auxiliary 3 5 shields will prevent the body coming into contact with the frame or platform of the car.

A further object of the invention is to provide means adapted to be supported by the car for adjusting the entire structure of the fender to any desired position, higher or lower, relative to the ground; and, finally, it is intended to provide a fender which shall be simple in construction, positive in operation, and capable of being readily detached or attached to a car, as desired, one which shall occupy a relatively small space and one which may be readily folded for transportation.

To the attainment of the above-recited 5o ends this invention consists in the certain novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specification,illustrated in the drawings, and set forth in the claims.

While I have herein shown and described my preferred style or type of fender, it will of course be evident and understood that there can be certain modifications as to form and relative arrangement of the minor parts composing the fender without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full understandingof myinvention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings,wherein myimprovementsarefully illustrated, and in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a street-railway car with my improved fender attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of my fender and a dashboard of a car to which it is attached. Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of the bracket or hanger employed for supporting the fender proper upon the car.

As is well known, the majority of the streetcar fenders now in use are dependent, more or less, upon the motorman or operator of the car when it is desired to throw such fender into operative position for preventing a body from being struck by a car and thrown under the wheels, and in such cases serious accidents often occur, due to the inability of the motorman to operate the fender-actuating means in time to throw the same into working position. To avoid these difficulties and dangers, I have devised a structure which is entirely automatic in its operation, which will be readily understood by referring to the drawings in detail in connection with this description.

In the drawings, A designates a car having attached to the front or dashboard 1 thereof my improved car-fender, which I shall designate as a whole by the numeral 2. The main body portion or structure of this fender is composed of two parts, one, as at 3, forming the seat or platform of the fender and the other, as at 4, hinged to the aforesaid seat or platform of the fender in such manner as to form a back therefor. These parts 3 and 4 too may be made of any suitable materialsuch as wood, metal, or wire nettinga'nd, as stated, are hinged, as at 5, in such manner that when the said portion 3 strikes an obstruction or body on the track such hinge will allow this part to drop or be forced into close proximity to the track-surface. A small roller, as at 6, is secured to the under side of the part 3, such roller being adapted when the fender is forced toward the track-surface to run upon the track and keep the said portion 3 out of contact therewith. If desired, the bracing or supporting rod, as at 7 and 8, may be employed for connecting and bracing said back portion.

Secured to the sides of the back portion 4 in any desired manner, preferably by means of hinges, as at 9, are two deflecting shields or wings, as at 10 and 11, one for each side. These wings extend from the side of the portion 4 to a position approximately on a line with the outer end of the front of the carstep, and a bracing or securing rod, as at 12, extends from the aforesaid deflecting wing or shield to any convenient part of the car adjacent thereto for the purpose of holding such shield in operative position. The advantages and purpose of these deflecting- Wings will be immediatelyapparent. Should a person crossing the track be in such a position as to avoid being struck by the main portion of the fender, but be in danger of beinginjured by the car-steps or running-board, this deflecting-shield will act to a certain extent upon its hinge and tend to throw the body outward away from the car body and wheels.

For the purpose of supporting the fender and securing the same to the car I employa bracket or frame substantially of the character illustrated in Fig. 3. This fender in my preferred form is composed of two arms, as at 13 and 14, and having at their upper ends hooked-shaped parts, as at 15'and 16. These arms are bent or turned approximately centrally until the lower parts thereof are almost at right angles with the upper portions of said arms, and they are connected together by means of brace rods or bars, as at 17 and 18. This bracket is adapted to be secured to the side bars or framework 19 at the ends of the back portion 4 of the fender. The manner of securing this frame to the part 19 also forms an important feature of my invention. A rod, as at 20, is mounted in the end parts 19 of the fender-frame, thus extending the entire width of the back, and pivotally mounted on this rod 20 is the bracket or hanger referred to.

In order to return the frame to its normally inoperative position after impact with an obstruction, I employ a series of springs, as at 21 22, which are preferably mounted as shown-that is to say, such spring having one end secured to the back portion 4 of the fender, While the other end is mounted in or passed through apertures 23 23 in the arms 13 and 14 of the bracket. It will be readily observed that when the fender strikes an obstruction or body it will be dropped or forced downwardly upon the hinge 5 and at the same time the brace-rods 7 and 8 will have enough force applied thereto to force the entire structure downwardly upon the point where the bracket is pivoted to the rod 20, so that the fender will assume the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. When the pressure is removed from the fender, it will be returned to its normal position through the function of the springs 21 and 22. Said framework 19 of the fender is provided with a series of apertures or sockets, so that thepivotedframe-supporting bar 20 may be adjustably mounted as desired.

For the purpose of adjusting the fender higher or lower relative to the ground any suitable means maybe employed, such as I have shown, consisting of an adjusting screw or bolt 24, which is socketed in the dashboard of the car, as at 25, and has its upper end or head portion bearing against the back 4. This adjusting -screw is adapted to be turned outwardly'and contact with the back 4 of the fender, thus forcing such back out from the dashboard, and the seat portion 3 is consequently brought nearer to the ground.

The operation of my improved fender will be readily apparent from the above description, and the advantages, apart from those herein recited, are so apparent as to need no detailed enumeration.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fender proper, a fender-supporting bracket adapted to be hooked upon the dashboard of a car, the fender being pivoted to said bracket, and springs for holding the upper portion of the fender in suitable relation to the bracket with a yielding tension, substantially as described.

2. A fender, comprising a body portion, an angular bracket pivotally supporting the said fender, the said bracket loosely engaging the dash of a car, and springs interposed between the upper part of the fender and the upper part of the said bracket for yieldingly holding the said fender in proper position, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination of a fender composed of two parts, a seat portion and a back portion, hinged together, auxiliary shields hinged to said back portion, and means carried by said fender for securing the same to a car, substantially as described.

4. A fender, comprising a seat, and a back portion hinged together, brace-rods connecting the said portions, and suspending means for the said fender, comprising a bracket adapted to be hooked upon a car, the lower portion of the said bracket holding the fender a suitable distance therefrom, and tension-springs connecting the back portion of the fender and the bracket, substantially as described.

5. A fender of the class described, comprising a main body portion, deflecting-shields hinged thereto, means connected with the car and the said shields for bracing the same, means for securing the whole structure to the car, and means interposed between the fender and the car for adjusting its relation to the surface of the ground, substantially as described.

6. A fender of the class described, com prising a main frame, auxiliary shields hinged to said main frame, abracket pivotally mounted thereon, and spring tension meansinterposed between said bracket and the aforesaid fender, substantially as described.

7. A fender of the class described, comprising a seat portion and a back portion, a roller journaled beneath the said seat portion adapted to contact with the ground when the fender is in operative position, brace-rods connecting the said seat portion and back portion, deflecting-shields hinged to said back portion, brace-rods adapted to connect said shields to a portion of the car, a rod journaled in the frame behind the back portion, a hanger or bracket pivotally mounted thereon, and tension means interposed between the back of the aforesaid fender and said bracket, substantially as described.

8. A fender of the class described, comprisingaseatportion andaback portion,a bracket or hanger pivotally secured to the back portion of the fender for supporting the fender in position on a car, and spring tension means interposed between said bracket and the back portion of the fender, and means for adjusting the entire fender structure higher or lower 1 relative to the surface of the ground, substantially as described.

9. A device of the class described, comprising a fender composed of two parts, a seat portion and a back portion, hinged together, auxiliary shields hinged to said back portion, means carried by the fender for securing the same to a car, and devices for regulating the distance of said fender from the car and for adjusting it higher or lower relative to the surface of the ground, substantially asset forth.

10. Adevice of the class described, comprising a fender composed of a seat portion and a back portion hinged together, supporting and bracing means connecting the seat and back portions, a rod journaled in the frame of the back portion,a bracket pivotally mounted thereon, tension means interposed between said bracket and the back of said fender, and means for adjusting the fender relative to the car and the surface of the ground, substantially as set forth.

11. A device of the class described, comprising a fender composed of a back portion and a seat portion hinged together, auxiliary shields hinged to the back portion, bracing means connecting the said seat and back portions, brace-rods connecting the deflectingshields with the car, a bracket pivotally mounted in the framework of the back of the fender, and adjusting devices for regulating the position of the fender relative to the car and ground, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY F. ROONEY.

Witnesses:

MARY T. FLooD, JOHN '1. 1 1001). 

